60 Te-ii Years of iny Life. 



When I became acquainted with Mrs. Speirs she was still in 

 her first flush ot enthusiasm, aad most anxious to convert every 

 one to her new creed, which upset our long-entertained notions, 

 and was in direct contradiction with the teachings ot my reli- 

 gion. 1 therefore treated spiritualism as heresy, and defended 

 myself against its contagious power. The more I doubted, 

 however, the more eager became Mrs. Speirs to convince me. 

 Her husband being, like most brokers, more of a materialist 

 than of a spiritual turn of mind, treated these new-fangled 

 things as deception and humbug, but being also a well-trained 

 husband he let Mrs. Speirs have her way, comforting himself 

 with the hope, supported by experience, that this fashionable 

 fancy would die out with time, and give place to some other 

 less dangerous to the brain. 



I have been told that spiritualism origmated in Germany, 

 like mesmerism, which has been connected with it. Though 

 this belief seems to have died out in Germany, it is still in full 

 bloom in America and in England, where spiritualism, in all 

 its many different shades, counts its believers in thousands, in 

 spite of common sense and religion. 



It would be almost impossible, and lead me too far, to des- 

 cribe all the mmnces of this sect, which includes mesmerism, 

 somnambulism, free-love people, &c. The leading feature of 

 this creed is, however, at least as- I understand it, the belief 

 that the spirits of the dead do not pass from this earth, but 

 that they remain here amongst us unseen, occupying different 

 spheres, and fulfilling more or less high duties according to 

 their more or less virtuous life in the body. Some who did 

 evil have become bad spirits and oppose the good ones. 

 Which duties are allotted to all these spirits of the different 

 spheres, I could not exactly make out, for I cannot think that 

 making strange noises, causing tables to dance and performing 

 all kinds of useless and childish tricks, should be their only 

 occupation. Though I, as I said before, resisted this epidemic 

 on the ground of religion and common sense, I could not help 

 becoming interested in this strange aberration, and feeling 

 tempted to witness some manifestations of spiritualism. The 

 Prince, however, tried to dissuade me from such an attempt, as 

 he was afraid that the excitement would act too strongly on my 

 imagination. I therefore abstained from visiting some of tho-e 

 public exhibitions of professional spiritualists, but did not resist 



